Rookies lead Blue Jackets to third straight win

Derick Brassard snapped a tie early in the second period and
Steve Mason stopped 22 shots as the Blue Jackets posted a 3-1
victory over the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

Jason Chimera and Manny Malhotra also tallied for Columbus,
which has won a season-high three straight despite injuries to
goaltenders Pascal Leclaire (ankle) and Fredrik Norrena (groin).

Captain Jarome Iginla scored the lone goal for Calgary, which
rested star goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff for the first time this
season.

Columbus, which has earned a point in six straight games
(4-0-2), has been getting stellar play from Mason and Brassard.

"Those two guys are carrying us right now, no doubt," Blue
Jackets captain Rick Nash said. "They are great young players
who are playing unbelievable for us right now. Everyone else
feeds off their energy, and that's one reason why we are winning
games right now."

Mason won his third straight start since being recalled from
Syracuse of the American Hockey League on November 4. The
20-year-old stopped 34 shots in a 4-3 shootout win over Montreal
on Friday.

"Its pretty special, obviously," Mason said. "It hasn't had
time to sink in, really, yet. I couldn't ask for a better
start. I'm proud of it, but the toughest part of the NHL is
sticking around, so I still have to do that."

"He's just solid everywhere right now," Columbus coach Ken
Hitchcock said. "There are no holes in his game. There are no
easy goals that go in. He's helping us win hockey games."

Brassard is helping them win as well. The NHL Rookie of the
Month for October, Brassard leads all first-year players with 13
points.

In this one, the 21-year-old put the Blue Jackets on top, 2-1,
when he took a chip pass from defenseman Mike Commodore on the
right wing, split a pair of defenders and beat backup netminder
Curtis McElhinney at 2:57 of the second period.

"I was coming pretty hard," Brassard said. "The defensemen
pinched me and I just lifted the puck. I saw I had the open
space, I had the breakaway, so I just took it and shot low
blocker side."

Brassard's tally came just 1:52 after Iginla had knotted the
game at 1-1 with a wrist shot from the slot that beat Mason to
the right side.

"We had a good chance on the power play," Iginla said. "Chimera
lost his stick and we were able to control the puck, and I was
able to get the puck through."

Malhotra scored midway through the third period for the final
margin. After blocking a shot by defenseman Cory Sarich and
skating down the ice, Malhotra unleashed a blast from the right
faceoff dot that found its way under McElhinney's glove arm at
8:37.

"I don't know if it was a tough game to play," Calgary coach
Mike Keenan said. "The chances were fairly even. They
capitalized on some errors that we made, and that was the
difference in the game."

McElhinney stopped 25 shots in his sixth career start.

"Curtis had a good game, considering he hadn't played for quite
some time," Keenan said. "He was very solid. I found that he
had a good, solid handle on tonight's game. We just couldn't
produce much more."